Court in Chernihiv region sentences two servicemen for going AWOL and refusing to take oath

A court in Kozelets district of Chernihiv region has handed down sentences to two servicemen — one for refusing to take the military oath and subsequently going absent without leave, the other for going AWOL while having an unexpunged criminal record. The verdicts were published on May 7 in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions.

The first convicted serviceman is a native of Mariupol who was undergoing training at the Ground Forces air defense specialist school. On January 19, 2025, he refused to carry out his commander’s order to take the military oath, explaining that he considered his conscription unlawful: he had previously been removed from the military register on health grounds.

Three months later, on April 14, 2025, the soldier went absent without leave from the unit to which he had been transferred. On March 4, 2026, he was detained by officers of the State Bureau of Investigations. The court found him guilty under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and sentenced him to a final term of 5 years and 3 months in prison.

The second convicted serviceman is a native of the city of Kreminna in Luhansk region. He was mobilized on January 1, 2025, and enrolled as a cadet in a training company. At the time of his conscription he had an unexpunged criminal record: in 2020 he had been sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for theft and drug possession.

On February 25, 2025, the man went absent without leave from his unit and went home. In early June 2025, he turned himself in to an SBI investigator and stated his wish to continue serving. During questioning he admitted guilt and expressed remorse, citing family circumstances and his state of health. The court found him guilty under Part 5 of Article 407 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (unauthorized abandonment of a military unit) and sentenced him to five years in prison.

UNIAN had previously reported that military lawyer Tetyana Kozyan had spoken about the procedure for servicemen returning after going AWOL. According to her, after returning from unauthorized absence, servicemen generally go through a full re-recruitment process during which their health and professional skills are assessed. Kozyan noted that after going AWOL, servicemen are not sent directly to the front line but are assigned to a reserve battalion, from which representatives of various military units essentially “select” personnel for themselves. According to the lawyer, at this stage decisions on further service are made “taking into account the real situation.”

Kozyan also explained how a serviceman can return to duty if he went AWOL due to health problems, a denial of leave, or a denial of medical treatment. The lawyer stressed that denial of medical assistance constitutes a serious violation of a serviceman’s rights, and that legal defense in such cases must be built on facts. According to Kozyan, medical documentation changes how investigative bodies perceive the situation.